Notes

good eating quality, pink blush, nice size and shape

Description

The Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, announces the release of Early Augustprince peach. Early Augustprince, previously tested as BY96P2634, is being released to provide an attractive, very firm peach ripening with or just after Cresthaven and Sunprince, that is well-adapted to the Southeastern climate. It has performed well in South Carolina and Georgia and is suggested for trial wherever Sunprince is grown. Early Augustprince resulted from cross of Sunprince × BY92P2710. BY92P2710 resulted from a cross of Flameprince × BY87P943 (=Blazeprince open pollinated). The original seedling tree of BY96P2634 was planted at the Southeastern Fruit and Tree Nut Research Lab at Byron, GA in 1996 and selected by W.R. Okie when it first fruited in 1998. Early Augustprince ripens in mid to late July at Byron, about with Sunprince or a few days after Cresthaven. The season has ranged from 0-7 days after Cresthaven. Most years it ripens 3-7 days before its sibling, Augustprince. The fruit is large, 7-8 centimeters (3 inch) in diameter when adequately thinned, and usually very round. Fruit is larger than Cresthaven, and has more red color than either Sunprince or Cresthaven. At maturity, the surface is 70-80 percent bright red with an attractive yellow ground color and little pubescence. The flesh is yellow with some red in the flesh if allowed to mature on the tree. The freestone fruit is firm with excellent melting texture and very good flavor. Trees of Early Augustprince are vigorous and productive. Leaf glands are globose. Trees appear to be moderately resistant to bacterial spot disease. Blossoms have large, showy pink petals and are self fertile. Trees bloom slightly after Sunprince and before Cresthaven, requiring about 800-850 hours of chilling below 7°C (45°F) to break the bud rest period in climates similar to that of Byron. Early Augustprince has cropped well in years when chilling has been inadequate for Cresthaven. No virus symptoms have been observed on Early Augustprince trees at Byron.

Key

Evaluations are based on a 1-8 scale (6=OK,7=Commercially acceptable, 8=Excellent)